| Airport Road | |
| Marker Image: | |
| Maint: | Region of Peel Dufferin County |
| Length Km: | 81.0[1] |
| Direction A: | South |
| Terminus A: | at the Mississauga/Toronto boundary. (Continues east as Dixon Road) |
| Direction B: | North |
| Terminus B: | Mulmur-Nottawasaga Townline (Continues as Simcoe County Road 42) |
| Junction: |
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Airport Road is an 81 km (50 mile) major north–south urban and rural thoroughfare in Ontario, Canada, running through the Regional Municipality of Peel and Dufferin County.[1] In combination with its continuation, Simcoe County Road 42, and in turn a portion of Highway 26 north of Stayner, it is a popular non-highway route (as an alternative to Highway 10 and former Highway 24) from the Greater Toronto Area to the Georgian Triangle, in particular the tourist towns of Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, and The Blue Mountains. It is named for Toronto Pearson International Airport, which it passes at its southern terminus.
It is designated Peel Regional Road 7 in Peel and Dufferin County Road 18 in Dufferin. In Peel, it follows the sixth Concession road east of Hurontario Street, and was numbered Sixth Line East. Despite Airport Road transitioning into Simcoe Road 42 and not reaching Stayner, the latter is commonly referred to as part of Airport Road and signage in Stayner indicates Airport Road reaching the intersection where Highway 26 makes a turn.[2]
Airport Road begins at Highway 427 in Mississauga, initially tracing a broad curve as a continuation of Toronto's east–west Dixon Road near the main street entrance of Pearson Airport to the west. Shortly after, it passes both over and under Highway 409 and its complicated ramps that serve as the airport's freeway access. Just to the north it passes under the elevated tracks of the Union Pearson Express, an airport rail link running to Downtown Toronto, and the guideway of the Terminal Link, the airport's automated people mover. It then straightens to join the main road grid and runs northwest, passing the operations centre for Air Canada, the airport's cargo facilities, and the east end of Runway 36R, a popular location for planespotting.[3] At Derry Road, the street enters the Malton neighbourhood, dipping under the tracks hosting GO Transit's Kitchener Line commuter trains just north of the intersection. It enters Brampton, south of Steeles Avenue and then interchanges with Highway 407 (Exit 53). Airport Road continues through more industrial areas, passing under the rail spur serving the Brampton Assembly (Stellantis Canada) auto plant. At Bovaird Drive, it enters a residential district, Springdale, and at Mayfield Road enters the largely rural Town of Caledon, although a suburban warehouse district is under development for a short distance north of Mayfield.[4]
From there, the road finally leaves urbanized areas and becomes rural, narrowing down to two lanes, soon after passing through the adjacent communities of Mono Road and Caledon East, through which the Trans-Canada Trail passes. North of Caledon East it enters the Oak Ridges Moraine and the first of the trademark hills that define much of rural Airport Road. At Highway 9, it runs through the rural community of Mono Mills as it leaves Peel Region and enters Dufferin County, where the hills become steeper as it traverses the Niagara Escarpment.[5] Airport Road is notorious for having a high collision rate in this area, and signs advise motorists of that fact.[6]
Airport Road ends at the boundary of Simcoe County where it transitions into Simcoe Road 42, which continues it into the community of Stayner (through which it is named King Street) where Highway 26 continues it in turn after turning into it from the east, forming the continuous route into the aforementioned tourist towns in the Georgian Triangle.[7]
Airport Road was originally named the Mono Mills Plank Road, as it was a main historic plank road to Mono Township.[8] Originally the road's southern terminus was at what is today Eglinton Avenue, with the present realignment to tie into Dixon Road being constructed during the late 1950's and early 1960's coinciding the expansion of Pearson Airport,[9] with a short stub remaining south of Highway 401 until the mid-1980's, when it was removed due to the development of the Airport Corporate Centre.[10] [11]
In Peel County (now Peel Region), Airport Road served as the north-south dividing line between the original five townships within the county; with Caledon, Chingacousy, and Toronto (not to be confused with the City of Toronto), to the west, and Albion and Toronto Gore to the east. Airport Road ceased being said divide after the county was restructured into the present regional municipality with the five townships incorporated into the three present lower-tier municipalities (Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon) that each span its width in 1974.[12]
